View full sizeMichal Thompson / The ArgusIndividual raised gardens brim with vegetables in front of a covered sittiing area, part of the recent renovations at the Maples Apartments in Hillsboro.

Two apartment buildings in Hillsboro serving fixed-income seniors officially "reopened" Monday thanks to $1.4 million in funding from state and local agencies to refurbish the much-needed complex.

The Maples Apartments in Hillsboro, located in the 1130 block of Southeast Maple Street, is home to 51 low-income residents aged 62 or older.

The complex never closed but Portland-based REACH Community Development officials thanked residents for putting up with six to eight months of construction. REACH took over the complex about 18 months ago from Community Housing Inc.

Michelle Haynes, REACH's director of housing development, said the company plans to keep the subsidized housing units for decades.

"If this housing was lost or sold to a private company then the rent subsidies go away," Haynes said. That would put the unit's 51 seniors in jeopardy of having no housing at all.

The improvements included new siding and weather-proofing of the building to improve energy efficiency and make the apartments more livable. The units were built in the early 1990s.

Workers also installed 14 raised garden beds, part of an effort to increase access to healthy food options.

"Seniors do much better when they're gardening," Haynes said.

The renovations were relatively minor, she said, but most important was the transition in ownership from a smaller management company to REACH.

"We're going to be able to preserve it indefinitely," Haynes said. "The money that we got ensures it."

Low-income seniors in general are vulnerable to being priced out of housing, or lack housing in the first place, Haynes said.

"That's one of the reasons that it was so important for us to make sure that this property was in good hands and handled properly," she said.

Residents are all on fixed incomes, earning less than $10,000 to $15,000 per year, Haynes said.

Haynes said that 54 percent of low- to moderate-income seniors in Washington County have some sort of housing issue. Beyond the fixed-income population, Haynes said, many other seniors don't have enough income to find housing at an affordable rent.

Community Housing Inc. wanted out of the affordable housing business. REACH has 30 years of experience working in affordable housing, with 1,400 units of single-family homes, apartment buildings and mixed-use developments located across the region.

The Maples Apartment complex is the first major foray into Washington County for REACH. Haynes said while the organization primarily operates in Portland, Washington County "is in our sights."

The nonprofit is in the process of developing another affordable housing project at Orenco Station, which Haynes said is targeted toward lower-wage retail workers. That project is in the design phase, and the nonprofit hopes to have the necessary land agreement in place by the end of this year.